Sharpshooting Rifles of the American Civil War

Colt, Sharps, Spencer, and Whitworth

Sharpshooting Rifles of the American Civil War cover

Sharpshooting Rifles of the American Civil War

Colt, Sharps, Spencer, and Whitworth

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Description

At the outset of the American Civil War, the Union Army's sharpshooters were initially equipped with the M1855 Colt revolving rifle, but it was prone to malfunction. Instead, the North's sharpshooters preferred the Sharps rifle, an innovative breech-loading weapon capable of firing up to ten shots per minute – more than three times the rate of fire offered by the standard-issue Springfield .58-caliber rifled musket. Other Union sharpshooters were equipped with the standard-issue Springfield rifled musket or the .56-56-caliber Spencer Repeating Rifle.

Conversely, the Confederacy favoured the Pattern 1853 Enfield rifled musket for its sharpshooters and also imported from Britain the Whitworth Rifle, a .45-caliber, single-shot, muzzle-loading weapon distinguished by its use of a twisted hexagonal barrel. Featuring specially commissioned artwork, this is the engrossing story of the innovative rifles that saw combat in the hands of sharpshooters on both sides during the Civil War.

Product details

Published 24 Aug 2017
Format Paperback
Edition 1st
Extent 80
ISBN 9781472815910
Imprint Osprey Publishing
Illustrations 45 b/w; 19 col
Dimensions 248 x 184 mm
Series Weapon
Short code WPN 56
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Martin Pegler

Martin Pegler has a BA Hons in Medieval and Modern…

Illustrator

Johnny Shumate

Johnny Shumate works as a freelance illustrator li…

Illustrator

Alan Gilliland

Alan Gilliland, a contributor to more than 70 Ospr…

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